Feb. jobless rates down over the year in 319 of 388 metro areas; payroll jobs up in 313

Unemployment rates were lower in February than a year earlier in 319 of the 388 metropolitan areas, higher in 48 areas, and unchanged in 21 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twenty-eight areas had jobless rates of less than 3.0 percent and six areas had rates of at least 10.0 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 313 metropolitan areas, decreased in 69 areas, and was unchanged in 6 areas. The national unemployment rate in February was 4.4 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 4.9 percent a year earlier. Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted) In February, Urban Honolulu, HI, had the lowest unemployment rate, 1.8 percent, closely followed by Ames, IA, 1.9 percent. El Centro, CA, had the highest unemployment rate, 16.0 percent. A total of 200 areas had February jobless rates below the U.S. rate of 4.4 percent, 173 areas had rates above it, and 15 areas had rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.) Rockford, IL, had the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease in February (-4.3 percentage points). An additional 86 areas had rate declines of at least 1.0 percentage point. The largest over-the-year rate increase occurred in Great Falls, MT (+0.7 percentage point). Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, had the lowest unemployment rates in February, 2.7 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY, had the highest jobless rate among the large areas, 6.4 percent. Forty-five large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, four had increases, and two had no change. The largest rate decreases occurred in Birmingham-Hoover, AL (-1.5 percentage points), and Cleveland-Elyria, OH (-1.4 points). No large area had an unemployment rate increase of more than 0.3 percentage point. __________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Current Employment Statistics (CES) Data Corrections | | | |This news release contains corrections to previously released employment data in | |tables 3 and 4. A complete list of corrections in this news release and in the | |CES (State and Area) database can be found at | |www.bls.gov/bls/errata/sae_errata.htm. | |__________________________________________________________________________________| Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted) Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 38 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In February, San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA, and San Rafael, CA, had the lowest unemployment rates among the divisions, 2.5 percent each. Tacoma- Lakewood, WA, had the highest division rate, 6.0 percent. (See table 2.) In February, 32 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, 2 had increases, and 4 had no change. The largest rate declines occurred in Elgin, IL (-1.4 percentage points), and Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI (-1.2 points). Neither of the over-the-year jobless rate increases exceeded 0.3 percentage point. Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted) In February, 313 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 69 had decreases, and 6 had no change. The largest over-the-year employment increases occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (+124,200), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+96,000), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (+93,400). The largest over-the-year percentage gains in employment occurred in Midland, TX (+9.1 percent), Odessa, TX (+7.5 percent), and Ocean City, NJ (+6.3 percent). (See table 3.) The largest over-the-year decrease in employment occurred in Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL (-4,300), followed by New Orleans-Metairie, LA (-3,900), and Toledo, OH (-3,800). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Enid, OK (-3.8 percent), followed by Sebring, FL (-3.0 percent), and Naples-Immokalee- Marco Island, FL (-2.9 percent). Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 50 out of 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more and fell in New Orleans-Metairie, LA (-0.7 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (+3.9 percent), Austin-Round Rock, TX (+3.7 percent), and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL (+3.5 percent). Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted) In February, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 34 of the 38 metropolitan divisions over the year and fell in 4. The largest over-the-year increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions occurred in New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ (+96,100), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX (+70,400), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA (+61,500). The over-the-year decreases occurred in Gary, IN (-2,100), Wilmington, DE-MD- NJ (-1,800), and Framingham, MA, and Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA (-1,300 each). (See table 4.) The largest over-the-year percentage increase occurred in Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA (+3.2 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX; Dutchess County-Putnam County, NY; and Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury Town, MA-NH (+2.8 percent each). The over-the-year percentage decreases occurred in Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA (-1.3 percent), Framingham, MA, and Gary, IN (-0.8 percent each), and Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ (-0.5 percent). _____________ The State Employment and Unemployment news release for March is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 20, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for March is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 2, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). __________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data | | | |Effective with the release of Regional and State Unemployment 2017 Annual Averages| |on Tuesday, February 27, 2018, civilian labor force and unemployment data for all | |states, the District of Columbia, and the modeled substate areas presented in | |tables 1 and 2 of this news release were revised from 2013 through 2017 to | |incorporate updated inputs, new population controls, re-estimation of models, and | |adjustment to new census division and national control totals. Revisions for all | |model-based area estimates were loaded into the BLS time series database at that | |time. | | | |Civilian labor force and unemployment data for the non-modeled metropolitan areas | |and divisions presented in tables 1 and 2 of this news release have been revised | |for 2017 to incorporate updated inputs and adjustment to new state control totals.| |Revised estimates for these areas and divisions have not been loaded into the BLS | |time series database; therefore, the database does not match the data for 2017 in | |this news release. Revisions for all non-modeled metropolitan areas and divisions | |from 2013 through 2017 will be loaded into the database on April 20, 2018. For | |more information, see http://www.bls.gov/lau/launews1.htm. | |__________________________________________________________________________________|